Eco-friendly sugarcane milk cartons used as alternative to plastic in New Zealand
Sugarcane is being used as a sweet new eco-friendly alternative for plastic milk cartons across the Tasman. Would you like to see it happen here too? Vote now in our poll.
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PLASTIC is no longer fantastic, with sugarcane a sweet new alternative across the Tasman.
Dairy giant Fonterra has rolled out a new line of sugarcane-produced environmentally-friendly dairy packaging as Kiwi customers become more eco-conscious.
The two-litre bottles for Anchor brand milk are the first on NZ supermarket shelves to be made entirely of plant-based material.
While Fonterra management told The Weekly Times there were no plans yet to roll out sugarcane bottles in Australia, the Auckland-based processor gave the new product a star-studded launch.
All Blacks rugby star Richie McCaw and NZ television personality Stacey Morrison were enlisted to promote the benefits of the new Fonterra bottles earlier this month.
“I grew up on a farm, and my sister is now a dairy farmer – innovations such as this are really important for the environment, as well as our dairy industry,” McCaw said.
The South American sugarcane is made into plant-based HDPE plastic in Brazil with the bottle itself made in New Zealand.
Fonterra Brands NZ managing director Brett Henshaw said the sugarcane bottles would initially be available in North Island supermarket refrigerators but would monitor consumer response.
“We know sustainability is important to Kiwis and we want to offer consumers an option to make change for good — to purchase a product that comes in more sustainable packaging,” Mr Henshaw said.
Most of Australia’s milk bottles are made with petrol-based plastics, although a number of small-scale dairies have entered the reusable package market in recent years.
Schulz Organic in southwest Victoria and Barambah Organic in Queensland are the leading exponents of glass bottled milk with a reuse system in place.
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